What Is A Sponsor?
An Alcoholics Anonymous or other 12 Step sponsor listens to new people as well as to “old-timers” he loves talking to people looking for help and patiently explains to new and old alike that a sponsor is really another harsher word for “friend.” Sponsors seemingly have nothing to do but are always there when needed. When they converse with us they are patient with our Impatience.
They never say “You had better” or “You are heading for your next drunk.” If you are listening you will hear them softly say “Easy does it” and “First things first,” quite a lot. Sponsors sometimes look like an unmade bed and sometimes like fashion plates.
Appearances don’t count. When you talk to a sponsor they really listen. They know some of the answers but not all. They often say, “I don’t know” and “Let’s look in the Book for an answer. They listen more than they talk – and they almost never interrupt – but when they do, the Sponsee had better lend an attentive ear.
Every AA member should have a sponsor especially members who “know it all” and those who talk so fast that they often say some things they haven’t thought of yet.
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